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Fact: Solar energy pricing is at an all time low according to reports released by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Installing a solar electric system on your home increases resale value. A U.S. Department of Energy study showed that buyers will pay up to $15,000 more for a home equipped with solar panels. Adding even more saving potential, government tax credits can offset the cost of a solar energy system with a 30 percent federal tax credit (currently through 2019) and in Montana a 500.00 per tax payer tax credit.

It is December in Montana. We received our first snowfall that stayed with us. Temperatures have dipped. We received a call: “Help. It is a beautiful day outside and my inverter is in nighttime mode.” We asked if there was snow on the modules. Sure enough, they were covered and the modules were shut down.

Not to worry. In Western Montana, grid-tie, net-metered homes make a majority of their solar power in the summer months. Winter power generation is a bonus, rather than a necessity. The days are shorter, the sun is lower and the sky is often overcast. This does not mean that we don’t generate any power, it just means that we generate significantly less in the months around solstice. Our sizing programs illustrate this well. December sunlight is summarized as 1.7 equivalent average sun hours while July data shows 7.5 average hours. So relax. Modules are generally set at an angle that enough snow will begin to shed, temperatures permitting. The cells are of dark colors that increases melting and with enough consecutive sunny days your modules will be generating power once again.

Fun Facts: Net-metered homes in Montana, energy production and usage are reset annually April 1st. So your solar electric photovoltaic system generates power in July (running your meter backwards) and you can use that generated credit now when your modules and you are snowed in.

This system is comprised of 40 -255 watt modules to create a 10kW array. The brewery building is located next to a baseball park which includes a ball net held in place with a number of telephone poles south of the main building. Add to this a cell tower to the Southwest. All of which creates areas of shading at specific times through the solar day.

Because of this shading we opted for micro inverters as their primary advantage is a reduction in losses when portions of the array are shaded. We also mounted a portion of the array on the west facing roof as this is totally free of shading and very visible from the main street intersection. Unlike string inverters with one MPPT channel where all modules need to be of the same orientation and angle, micros give us flexibility and allow any orientation for multiple modules.

A smart TV is mounted in the main room of this local watering hole where it is easy to see just how much power the array is producing. This is a great way to show off your solar system if you have a public area.

The owner and managers of the brewery utilized every possible incentive available here in Montana. Because of their location they were able to secure the USDA 25% grant, a partial grant from NorthWestern Energy, and the low interest loan program (3.25%) from Montana DEQ.

SBS Solar is super excited to show you the latest Habitat for Humanity of Ravalli Co home in Stevensville, Montana. This is an all-electric home with new energy star appliances, LED lighting and a very well insulated envelope.

With a $17,000 grant from NorthWestern Energy, SBS Solar was able to install a 30 module, 7.5kWh array with a grid tie inverter and an air source heat pump. We installed this system in December and made the final tie into the grid and installed a net meter on January 2nd.

Net Zero Habitat for Humanity home in Stevensville, Montana

30 module, 7.5kWh array and a grid tie inverter

Grid Tied Inverter

Air Source Heat Pump

As of this writing 5 months later, the system has made more power than what the home used thru the building process. We utilized electric, milk house, resistant type heaters to keep our workers warm and set the drywall mud. We eventually installed an air source heat pump in March, after the coldest period of winter.

Now that the family has moved in we will see how well all the systems preform and the actual electric usage. Depending on this power usage, we will see if they are actually netting the big Zero at the end of the year.

It was a lot of fun, and a honor, being part of the design and building of what is possibly the first net zero home in Western Montana.

(What follows is quite possible the best Solar PV testimonial we could ever ask for. With pictures! We hope you agree.)

SBS Solar
401 South Orange St, Unit C
Missoula MT 59801

Dear SBS Solar:

Solar PV Pergoal, Central Missoula, Montana

I’m writing to share my great experience with your company and my 100% solar-powered home. In the fall of 2011, SBS installed a 24 panel, 6 kW, grid-tied solar PV system at my home in central Missoula. Because my house had additions, I don’t have one flat surface for the panels, so SBS hired subcontractors to design and install a covered back porch structure for the panels. I started producing all of my own power in the early spring and now in the summer am producing 50% morepower than I need. I will receive a credit for this extra power and it will mitigatethe power use in December or January when I might be producing as little as 30%of own my power.

100% Solar powered electric car, from home Solar PV system in Missoula, Montana

I recently installed more efficient appliances, and thus I will probably producemore power than I use this year. This surplus of power led me to decide to lease a 100% electric car, which will be 100% solar-powered car for at least 6 or 8 monthsout of the year.

I felt compelled to act because we can’t afford to ignore the signs of climate change or the role we play in it. I feel a moral obligation to reduce my carbon footprint, to protect biodiversity and protect the planet for future generations. Can you imagine the reduction of coal and oil consumption we could achieve if every family in Western Montana had a solar-powered home and solar-powered electric car? Maybe mega-loads, tar sands mining, and Otter Creek coal mining would all become unnecessary. The technology is available and ready for this now inWestern Montana.

The cost breakdown for my solar system:

COSTS INCLUDING STRUCTURE:

Materials and installation for PV system: $28,570
New back porch structure:$8,640
Engineering of structure:$1,643
City building permit for structure:$285
Relocation of power/gas lines for structure:$3,605
Electric panel relocation:$620GROSS Total:$43,363

So essentially, the solar system had a net cost of less than $14,000 for 100% annual power.

The system will eventually pay itself off and then the power I use in my home and the “fuel” I use for my car will be free. While this is certainly a meaningful reward, for me the bigger reward is knowing that my decision to choose an alternative to coal and oil is a concrete physical step toward a safer planet for future generations. As Terry Tempest Williams has said: “The eyes of the future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time. They are kneeling with hands clasped that we might act with restraint, that we might leave room for the life that is destined to come.”

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